Three Sisters loop offers one of Oregon's most scenic backpack trips

Backpackers on the Green Lakes Trail in the Deschutes National Forest near Bend. Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

Central Oregon's familiar lovely ladies look so different up close.

From Green Lakes, broad and balanced South Sister looks as if she has a Mohawk.

From Little Brother, once-distant Middle Sister is brazen in a white gown of glacial snow and ice.

And gnarly North Sister looks even gnarlier from the meadow near Minnie Scott Spring. The Linn Glacier is taking a bite out of her, as though intent on carving an eye socket into her precipitous north face.

The 46-mile circuit of trails around the third-, fourth- and fifth-highest peaks in the state is one of Oregon's great multinight backpacking opportunities -- and one that gives you plenty of those in-your-face views.

Parts of the loop are heavily used by day hikers, but the full loop is less widely known than some other round-the-mountain trails: the Timberline Trail around Mount Hood, the Loowit Trail around Mount St. Helens and the Wonderland Trail around Rainier.

Fitness freaks may do the Three Sisters circuit as a nonstop push, taking less than a day, while grizzled old backpackers like me take it slow. Muscles strain to accept 45 pounds carried on the back, the starting weight for my six-day trip.

A dozen miles to glory Taken clockwise from the Pole Creel trailhead, the Three Sisters loop begins in a fire-prone forest of lodgepole pine, western white pine and Englemann spruce, with an understory of manzanita and bitterbrush. This starting point is 10 miles from where 6,000 acres were torched in the Rooster Rock fire of early August.

The thick forest makes for tedious -- or perhaps meditative -- hiking for a dozen miles on the north and east sides of the loop. But every now and then, the forest opens to reveal views of a volcano, or a sparkling creek crosses the route and offers an inviting campsite.

Then come the scenic gems, nonstop, one after another, almost too many to comprehend, over the other 30-plus miles.

First up is Park Meadows, a grassy oasis filled with trickling streams and gratifying wildflowers.

Three Sisters backpack loopMountain and lake scenery during a six-day, 50-mile hiking trip in the Three Sisters Wilderness Area of central Oregon.

Then comes the ridge between 9,175-foot Broken Top, with its distinctive, craggy silhouette, and 10,358-foot South Sister.

Next, the Green Lakes basin, where one large and two small turquoise gems reflect the odd top of South Sister. The lakes are perhaps the most popular mountain destination from Bend and draw a few hundred hikers a day, plus overnighters bound for 28 designated campsites.

Circuit hikers continue around the south side of South Sister, passing Moraine Lake, another day hiker magnet. Some come to introduce their kids to the wilderness, others to swim in the icy water.

Soon the loop crosses the Wickiup Plain, a pumice-covered expanse where plant life struggles. This is a busy entry point for equestrians who come to ride the Pacific Crest Trail. Rock Mesa Obsidian Flow, a massive jumble of lava, lies at the foot of South Sister's southwest side.

From dry to wet When you cross from the Deschutes National Forest into the Willamette National Forest, you swap the dry side for the wet side. Snow on the trail, even in early August, becomes more common -- and the exponential increase in mosquitoes can make you crazy. After setting up camp on the loop's west side, expect to be confined to the tent to avoid a bloodletting.

As the Pacific Crest Trail makes its west side traverse of the Three Sisters, the scenery mixes meadows, volcano views and splashing creeks. A bonus is the rugged profile of the Husband, a 7,524-foot satellite peak that is tough to see from roads.

Thirty-foot high Obsidian Falls ushers in the Obsidian area, the only place on the loop where the number of visitors is controlled by quota. A main wilderness access from the southern Willamette Valley, Obsidian is the base for climbers intent on reaching the summits of 10,047-foot Middle Sister and 10,085 North Sister.

A less strenuous option, after setting up camp in the trees at the edge of a meadow, is to scramble up 7,810-foot Little Brother. The view of Collier Cone from the top is as spectacular as the volcanic scenery that caused Congress to make two national parks in Hawaii.

Another grind up Opie Dilldock Pass leads out of the Obsidian area. The pass was named in 1932 for a comic strip character who always found an unusual way to get out of tight situations, as the trail builders did here.

The surprises continue at Minnie Scott Spring, where tiny rocks dance in clear, cold water that bubbles up from crevices in the earth.

Yapoah Crater, a rounded mass of black pumice, again brings to mind the best scenery of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The view takes in Black Crater, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack, Mount Jefferson and Mount Hood marching to the north.

The loop continues north to within four miles of McKenzie Pass, then turns east and south to complete the loop.

By this stage of the trip, most hikers' feet will be sore. Horseback riders will have reason to complain about pain in a different part of the anatomy.

Both groups, though, are likely to agree that making it around the Three Sisters loop is worth the pain.

Three Sisters loop

This is a wilderness trip. Those who attempt to hike it or ride it on a horse must have the necessary skill and equipment.

Distance: 46 miles when started from Pole Creek, 11 miles south of Sisters on Deschutes National Forest Road 15. The loop is longer from other entry points. Elevation: Expect to gain 6,700 feet from ups and downs along the way, between 5,300 and 7,000 feet above sea level. Permits: Wilderness entry permits are self-issuing at trailheads. The Obsidian area on the west side of the loop has the only limits for access to day hikers and campers in a small designated zone. Camping: Pitch a tent at least 100 feet from water and trails; camp only in designated sites at Green, Moraine and Matthieu lakes.

Route: Douglas Lorain includes a description of the Three Sisters loop in his "Backpacking Oregon," available from Wilderness Press.

Day hikes: See some of the best scenery of the loop from the Green Lakes and Devils Lake trailheads on the Cascade Lakes Highway west of Bend, from Obsidian on Oregon 242 and from Lava Lake at McKenzie Pass.

Info: Get an Obsidian entry permit from the McKenzie River Ranger District, McKenzie Bridge, 541-822-3381. Permits are limited and go fast. They become available 30 days before date of travel.